Chapter 256 Italy’s “Refugee” Reception
"Knock knock knock..." There was a knock on the door.
"Come in!" a voice came from the study.
Tom walked into the room with two telegrams. Ernst was dealing with documents in East Africa. As the crown prince of East Africa, he naturally could not let his old father suffer, so many affairs were completely handled by Ernst and then let Constantine implement them directly. In this way, Ernst could also discuss with Constantine some things that he was undecided about.
"Your Highness, the Hamburg and Trieste branches just sent a telegram saying that all idle ships under the Hechingen Ocean Fleet have been vacated. However, I'm afraid that such a small number of ships cannot complete the mission you assigned."
"I know that too. How many ships have they prepared?"
"There are 64 ships in total. The rest are responsible for other businesses, such as the recent export of food and goods to Marseille. Therefore, this ship deployment has actually affected the overall operation of the company."
"Well, you can contact our old friends first, those Dutch shipowners and immigrants from North Germany, let them take charge temporarily. They are not unfamiliar with the route. Austrian and Italian immigrants can contact other fleets in Trieste, they should be able to share some of the burden. After the opening of the Suez Canal, it won't be difficult for these ships in the Mediterranean to reach East Africa. As long as the price is negotiated, there should be no problem. As for our cargo transportation, let's ask the Italians for the part to be delivered to Marseille! If it's still not enough, we can think of ways from other countries, Greece and Spain are both fine!"
If there is a shortage of ships in the Far East, it may be possible, but there are a lot of so-called maritime powers around the Mediterranean and Northern Europe, especially Italy and Greece, where freight rates are cheap and the quantity is sufficient.
Before the Suez Canal was opened, countries engaged in ocean trade were mainly concentrated on the Atlantic coast, mainly Britain, the Netherlands, Spain, Portugal and France. Ernst chose to cooperate with the Dutch. Among these countries, only the Dutch had the smallest political attributes, sufficient money, and few problems. Moreover, they also had trade activities as far as Japan and North Korea, which was in line with Ernst's immigration route.
After the opening of the Suez Canal, Ernst had more options. Both Austro-Hungarian merchant ships and warships could pass through the Suez Canal and enter the Indian Ocean directly.
As far as Ernst knew, Franz's army weapons were smuggled into Rome on hired Italian ships.
As for why Ernst knew this, it was because of curiosity. Ernst also wanted to know how the Austro-Hungarian Empire transported the weapons and equipment of the entire army to Rome.
After all, Rome is on the west coast of Italy and is surrounded by the current Kingdom of Italy. If the Austro-Hungarian Empire wanted to transport weapons, it must have its own channels.
As the instigator of this incident, Ernst went directly to ask Franz, and Franz did not hide anything. The solution was very simple, which was to find an Italian merchant ship to negotiate a price, and leave the rest of the matter to the Italians themselves.
Ernst said he had learned something and had also analyzed East Africa to avoid such loopholes. However, East Africa, which was in a "closed-door" state, did not seem to have such a problem. The closed-door policy was a one-way valve that only allowed inflow but not outflow. Although there were two free trade ports, they were places for ships from various countries to stop and to prevent excuses. The British at sea often used the name of free trade to cause trouble everywhere, so the two free ports of Mombasa and Dar es Salaam were left behind.
Now that the Suez Canal is open, basically all European ships are queuing in the Red Sea. The East African coast, which was considered "lacking markets and resources" by Europeans, has declined, and only East Africans and Arabs are still wandering in this sea area.
…
Under the nose of the Kingdom of Italy, the Austro-Hungarian Empire had prepared all the troops and weapons and equipment to support the Papal States, just waiting for Italy to take the bait.
So starting in August, the ships in Hechingen began to be emptied in preparation for the "possible" large-scale Italian immigration, or war refugees.
In fact, in June, the Hechingen fleet had already quietly made preparations in the German region. As France declared war, some residents on the German-French border and even in Alsace and Lorraine in France took advantage of the East African immigrants and migrated to East Africa.
Alsace and Lorraine, as the former homeland of the Holy Roman Empire, have most of their residents who are essentially Germans under French rule and speak High German (actually a South German dialect). Coincidentally, the same is true for the Hechingen royal family. The northern states like Prussia and the North German Confederation belong to Low German.
At the same time, southern Germany, Alsace, Lorraine and the Austro-Hungarian Empire were all Catholic regions, so there were still some big cultural differences between north and south Germany. This is also the reason why southern Germany naturally tends to Austria (Austrian German evolved from the Bavarian dialect).
From the East African Colony to the East African Kingdom, in the past three years, the original surplus population in southern Germany has been almost absorbed by East Africa. Coupled with this war, the population of Baden and Württemberg in the south may experience negative growth. It is difficult to say the specific situation in Bavaria, but it is estimated to be similar.
Due to the dominant position of immigrants from South Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire among the pure German population, and the fact that the Hechingen royal family itself came from South Germany, the overall cultural attributes of East Africa are more inclined towards South Germany.
This is also a good thing. The half-dead Austro-Hungarian Empire has limited ability and willingness to interfere overseas. Prussia is too strong, so it is more reassuring to choose Austria-Hungary as a partner.
Apart from the Mediterranean Sea, East Africa is only separated from the Austro-Hungarian Empire by Egypt, which covers an area of nearly three million square kilometers. So in theory, the Austro-Hungarian Empire could take care of this little brother, East Africa, which was neither too far nor too close, and was in the right location.
Ernst had already prepared a location for Italian immigrants. A large amount of land in the Zambia region needed to be populated, so there was no need to be too picky about the location. The new town could be built directly where the indigenous people lived.
The environment in places where settlements are formed will not be too bad, and the local "labor force" can be fully utilized to develop new land.
Italian immigrants will be scattered throughout the provinces of Zambia along with immigrants from the Far East and Germany. At the same time, some residents will be moved out from the east to guide agricultural production and labor.
East Africa is a typical tropical plateau agriculture. Its experience and climate are different from those of the Far East and Europe. The early agricultural development in East Africa absorbed the experience of indigenous agriculture on the one hand, and sought guidance from "professionals" in South America and Mexico on the other. After three years of exploration, the current East African model was developed. Therefore, these new immigrants also need the help and guidance of the old immigrants.
Zambia’s climatic conditions are no different from those of the East African Plateau, even the precipitation and latitude are the same (although Zambia is landlocked), so there is no problem in developing according to the East African Plateau model.
…
"Tom, there is one more thing. Marseille should do a cleaner job. We are only responsible for the input of raw materials and the production of goods. The Medina family can do the rest. In non-German regions, our purpose is to make money together. We should not interfere in politics directly. Let our allies do this."
"Yes, Your Highness, I will check it carefully and there will be no mistakes."
Naturally, friendly forces of the Hechingen royal family, such as the Medina family, needed support. The Franco-Prussian War was an opportunity. Ernst knew that France was going to lose, but not completely. At least the French people did not surrender. The Medina family could use this war to accumulate their reputation in southern France. Anyway, Prussia could only reach the vicinity of Paris at most. Count Medina could express his "patriotic" feelings unscrupulously in the rear and win the favor of the French people.
(End of this chapter)
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